I made an NFC/QR code card for my wifi details at home, and that also includes the details written in clear text on the card, since some devices simply don’t do QR (or NFC in my case).
Comment on Continuwuity
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
This is the homeserver written in Rust, right?
A suggestion: wherever a QR code is included, the human-readable content should be included next to it. Not everyone has a QR code reader handy, or their reader has the bad habit of immediately opening links or apps. In this case, I see that it just goes to continuwuity.org and is benign, but others may be apprehensive at naked QR codes.
(there’s obviously an exception for QR codes that are intended to convey machine info, like TOTP codes)
ace@lemmy.ananace.dev 1 week ago 
JadedBlueEyes@programming.dev 1 week ago It is!
Yeah, I see your point, and I included the link in the alt text. On the actual design itself though, any URL I wrote in could be completely different from the QR so it seems slightly pointless - especially as it would just be writing Continuwuity a third time haha
Cyber@feddit.uk 6 days ago
I can see a lot of opinions & comments on the QR part and, with respect, I’d like to add that I’m reading this post on a device where I’d like to view the site on the same device, so a QR isn’t best for this platform.
I’d go a little further and say that QRs and really only useful for a mediim where you want the user to use a 2nd device (printed media, BSODs, etc)
Also putting the URL in the (for my reader) non-clickable alt-text doesn’t help either
Again, with respect, you’re making it harder for your audience to reach you, not easier.
notabot@piefed.social 1 week ago
Including the URL isn’t to act as a check on the contents of the QR code, but to act as an alternative for those who don’t want to scan it at all.
- JadedBlueEyes@programming.dev 1 week ago
The alternative is to search the name right next to the code in this design
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 1 week ago
This is not a good idea: having to search means an implicit reliance on a search engine. Even with a trustworthy web search – and those are becoming fewer and fewer – why add this complication? The URL doesn’t even have to be large; it just has to be readable.
Even worse is when there’s an adversary: what would stop someone from buying getcontinuwuity.org but have it be pro-Big Tech propaganda, with tracking cookies galore, and then pay Google or Bing to put it at the top of the web search results?
Whereas in 2026, a URL is not confusing at all to include. People know what http:// or https:// mean. Even big brands might not own their own product name’s domain. This exact problem came up just six days ago: neowin.net/…/paintnet-can-finally-be-downloaded-f…
The whole point of marketing is to reduce the barriers for people to find something useful or valuable. Adding an accessibility barrier is antithetical to that objective.
kilgore_trout@feddit.it 1 week ago
I know you are in good faith (and I already run my continuwuity server!), but in ppractical terms you are suggesting to use Google, and I don’t want to. Expecially for something you could have included in text in the post.
edit: I am reminded of Richard Stallman spelling out full URLs during conferences, complete with subdirectories. It is silly, but it works.
KingKong33@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
Or just post the link.
nykula@piefed.social 1 week ago
Agreed that QR codes should be accompanied by text links for accessibility, because many times the scanning fails due to bad light, old camera or shaky hands.
artyom@piefed.social 1 week ago
I was very excited when I started seeing QR codes gaining popularity. That excitement was quickly shattered when everyone just started using them improperly and they just made everything more annoying 😮💨
Hawke@lemmy.world 1 week ago
What exactly is “improper use”?
KingKong33@lemmy.ml 1 week ago
Lots of people use Lemmy via mobile. How am I supposed to scan a QR code?
Hawke@lemmy.world 1 week ago
Print it out and scan it. Use a barcode reader. Use another mobile. Upload it to a barcode decoder website.
morto@piefed.social 1 week ago
Putting simple things behind a qrwall. I once went to a presentation and they had that qr code to scan to get the certificate, and I went there without my phone, so I got no certificate (I needed it for academic bureaucracy). restaurants with qr-only menus also come to mind. Oh, I also saw once a school with the timetables mural with just qrs and nothing else written, so if new students didn’t have a phone AND mobile internet, they couldn’t find by themselves where and when their classes took place
artyom@piefed.social 1 week ago
Basically anytime it’s not printed